Vietnam evicts substandard imported drugs

13 Sep 2013, BioSpectrum Bureau , BioSpectrum

Singapore: The Drug Administration of Vietnam has inspected and removed all consignments of imported medicines from the market ahead of claims by drug quality control agencies that foreign drugs failed to meet national standards.

The deputy head of Drug Administration of Vietnam, Nguyen Viet Hung said in a statement that 37 pharmaceutical companies from ten nations had sold low quality drugs to Vietnam from January 1, 2011-to-August 23, 2013. Out of these 25 were Indian companies.

The statement pointed out that Clavophynamox 1000, Nalidixic acid tablets BP 500mg and Piroxicam imported by Pharmaceutical Company No.1 and manufactured by Flamingo Pharmaceuticals in India did not meet quality standards.

Further, Umedica Laboratories from India is said to have exported substandard drugs into Vietnam three times. Apotex from Canada, Pfizer PGM from France, Denk Pharma from Germany, Deawoo, Daehwa Pharm and Dae Han New Pharm Company from South Korea are all some of the international pharmaceutical companies that have reportedly sold substandard medicines in Vietnam.

The administration has now asked importers to check the quality of medicines before launching it in the market. The administration has instructed that after clearances are issued, medicines must be stored in warehouses where drug quality control agencies in districts or provinces will take samples for testing. The National Institute of Drug Quality Control would conduct further checks only after this.